My horse has thin hoof walls. Unflavored gelatin is supposed to help, but my horse absolutely won’t eat it in any form (and she’s a pig about food). I even tried the sweetened, flavored stuff. No go. Suggestions?
Biotin or a farriers formula with copper and since us biotin. Protein from alfalfa. Can’t imagine a serving of gelatin is enough to make any difference.
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There is research that biotin is the best for hoof quality. My gelding had a teeny little horizontal ding is his left hind. It looked like it was going to grow out, but a shallow crack developed. I started him on biotin and it grew out. Farrier tells me hoof walls and sole are thicker. I’m keeping him on it. I use Bioflax 20 from HorseTech.com. the base is food grade stabilized ground flax and he gobbles it down with his grain.
I can’t say that there’s much science proving gelatin to be effective, but there is definitely proof that quality nutrition and mineral balance will help grow a much stronger and healthier hoof.
Gelatin for finger nails and hooves is an old wives tail.
Agree that you should try something with biotin prepared for horses. But keep in mind that hoof walls are largely genetic. If your horse is already eating a complete diet it is unlikely that a hoof supplement will make a huge difference. It won’t hurt, and it may improve the hoof quality to some degree, but it won’t turn a thin-walled horse into a gravel crushing barefoot horse.
